Spring onions, peppercorns, sesame oil, soy sauce, and lime juice pack this noodle salad with heaps of flavour.
If you’re looking for low calorie meals that will suit both lunch or dinner, this chicken, pea, and noodle salad is the perfect option. The protein from the chicken and cashew nuts will keep you fuller for longer, and the sugar snap peas add towards your five-a-day count.
Ingredients
- 6 spring onions
- 1 bay leaf and a few sprigs of thyme
- A few peppercorns
- Pinch of salt
- 2 chicken breasts, about 300g total weight
- 150g sugar-snap peas, or mangetout, or a mixture of the two
- 250g dried fine egg noodles
- 1tbsp sesame oil
- 3tbsp soy sauce
- 1tbsp caster sugar
- 3tbsp lime juice
- 2 handfuls of pea shoots
- 1tbsp finely chopped toasted cashew nuts or 2tsp toasted sesame seeds
Method
Trim and roughly chop 2 of the spring onions and put in a shallow pan with the bay, thyme, peppercorns, a pinch of salt and about 600ml cold water. Bring to the boil, then put the chicken breasts in, take the pan off the heat, cover with a tight-fitting lid and leave for an hour to cook (off the heat). Shred the chicken.
Blanch the sugar-snaps or mangetout in boiling water for 2 mins, drain, rinse in cold water and plunge into iced water.
Cook the noodles according to pack instructions. Drain, refresh, and then drain again.
Mix together the sesame oil, soy, sugar and lime juice to make a dressing. Toss half through the noodles and divide between 4 plates or bowls. Top with pieces of shredded chicken, sliced sugarsnaps or mangetout, and thin strips of spring onion. Top with the pea shoots. Drizzle with the rest of the dressing and sprinkle with cashew nuts or sesame seeds.
Top tips for making chicken, pea and noodle salad
Flatten the chicken breasts a little to even thickness before cooking. You can use tuna or steak instead of chicken, if you like. Add slivers of mango or finely sliced cucumber and celery to bulk out the salad.
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